John Brooks Henderson, Jr. | |
---|---|
Born |
Pike County, Missouri, |
February 18, 1870
Died | January 4, 1923 Washington, D.C. |
(aged 52)
Alma mater |
Harvard University Columbian University |
Spouse(s) | Angelica Schuyler Crosby (m. 1903; her death 1907) |
Children | Beatrice Van Rensselaer Henderson |
Parent(s) |
Mary Foote Henderson John Brooks Henderson |
Relatives |
Eunice Newton (grandmother) Elisha Foote (grandfather) |
John Brooks Henderson, Jr. (February 18, 1870 – January 4, 1923) was an American diplomat and educator.
He was the son of Senator John Brooks Henderson (1826–1913) and social activist Mary Foote Henderson (1841–1931), who was known as "The Empress of Sixteenth Street." His father was known as the Senator who introduced the thirteenth amendment to the Constitution that abolished slavery and one of seven Republicans who voted against the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson in May 1868.
His mother was the daughter of Eunice Newton (1819–1888), a scientist and women's rights campaigner, and Elisha Foote (1809–1883), a prominent lawyer and judge, and the niece of Senator Samuel Foote of Connecticut.
Henderson graduated from Harvard in 1891 and received his degree in law from Columbian University (now George Washington University) in 1893.
From 1896 to 1897, he was Private Secretary to the John W. Foster while Foster was diplomatic advisor to the Chinese government. In 1897, he traveled with General Nelson A. Miles to Europe and toured the Ottoman Empire as an unofficial observer.
In 1911, Henderson was appointed a citizen member of the Smithsonian Institution Board of Regents, serving until his death in 1923. He collected shell as a youth, later focusing on the marine shell life of the West Indies. He was involved with multiple expeditions to the Caribbean and he later donated his collection to the United States National Museum. He wrote several articles for the Proceedings of the United States National Museum and Bulletin of the United States National Museum.